On one of the expeditions in the Antarctica trip, a group of girls asked me to make a photograph for them with the beautiful glacier as the background.

I immediately went into portrait photographer mode and the next thing I heard myself say surprised (or rather, impressed) even the most critical me - "Smile, it's the best makeup!"

I've long believed in being authentic in what I do and this "incident" is further proof for that. It was not preconceived, so it must have come from what I truly believe. You think a trip to Cagliari, Sardegna, witnessing the religious procession of Festa di Sant'Efisio might have put the thought into my head?

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words". I'm going to show you two thousands words. I hope you see the point clearly demonstrated by them. These were made on the first day of Festa di Sant'Efisio, where thousands of people from villages and towns of the whole island were in the procession, dressed in traditional costumes.

The Falkland Islands are known to have one of the largest populations of Southern rockhopper penguins. I've long looked forward to meeting such unique "people in tuxedos". Although the rockhopper penguin is one of the world’s most numerous penguin populations, it is estimated that the population has decreased almost 90% since the early 20th century. At the census conducted by Falklands Conservation, the total Falkland Islands population was estimated to be 320,000 breeding pairs in 2010 vs. an estimate of 1.5 million breeding pairs in 1933.

When we arrived on New Island, the most westerly inhabited of the Falklands archipelago, we were in such treat to meet a colony that's in nesting season. Many were busy foraging, nesting and/or incubating their first of the two eggs. So, this is the state in which I met them:

I grew up in the far east and even I have heard the story of a woman being saved by a knight in shining armor (on a white horse?). So, would it be safe to say that many girls, if not all, have been brought up in the culture where such fantasy exists?

Valentine's Day is such a classic holiday, nowadays, to celebrate with your such knight. And it could cause stress for the princesses that are still waiting. They may think that no knight likes her or, worse, that she's not worthy of love.

Girl, listen, just like many things in this world, if desirable things haven't happened to you, it most likely is not a reflection on you. Think about it, your designated knight, in such a confusing world, may have been lost, distracted, gotten into a fight with the devil for a wrong princess, or even fallen off the handsome horse and injured himself. So, like I said, no delayed arrival for the above reasons could have been caused by you. So, stop being so hard on yourself, and have faith that the fittest and the bestest knight will show up when it's the right time and you are in your best state of physical and spiritual mind.

In the meanwhile, caress yourself with abundant love. Treat yourself as you deserve it. All of my women clients know what I'm talking about.